3-Sided Virtual Reality Mild Cognitive Impairment Rehabilitation Training Platform : An Update

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the types and methods of virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation and their clinical effects, and to introduce recently developed VR rehabilitation methods. VR rehabilitation is largely divided into desktop type VR, third person type VR, and immersive type VR, and various companies have already introduced several such products. In addition, a VR rehabilitation method that surrounds the anterior, left, and right sides of a patient on three or all four sides have recently been introduced that has the advantage of providing a variety of sensory stimuli in an environment similar to real life. These devices vary in price, size, and sense of immersion. To date, VR rehabilitation has mainly been applied to adults with brain damage, including stroke, as well as to individuals with cerebral palsy, dementia, or mild cognitive impairment. VR rehabilitation positively contributes to improvements in their physical function, cognitive function, mental function, and daily living activities for two reasons. First, virtual reality-based rehabilitation provides continuous multisensory stimulation to the brain’s cognitive and motor areas through dynamic interaction with an environment similar to real life. This can positively contribute to the improvement of cognitive, physical, and mental functions through a direct effect on brain restructuring or plasticity. In addition, VR rehabilitation can induce active participation in rehabilitation by evoking fun and interest in patients, using a variety of contents. Thus, active rehabilitation can not only increase the time spent participating in rehabilitation but also improve compliance, which can aid in successful rehabilitation.